Helping Over 14,000 Smiles

Guest post by Beth Light, President 2011-12 MISD Council of PTAs
According to a surgeon general’s report, tooth decay is the most common chronic childhood disease. Additionally, school nurses say it’s common for children in our community to not own a toothbrush. To help fight this problem and in support of National Children’s Dental Health Month, the Children’s Oral Health Coalition, led by Cook Children’s, hosted its fifth annual Drive for a Smile toothbrush collection drive in February. 

Mansfield ISD was asked to participate in the Drive for a Smile toothbrush drive during the month of February. Jane Latimer of Cook Children's coordinated with the Mansfield ISD Council of PTAs to inform the schools of the drive.

For the last two years, the MISD schools have participated. Local PTAs coordinate the donation drive with the help of student groups, counselors, teachers, school and central office administrators, and various MISD departments. This year, our schools and departments donated over 14,000 toothbrushes.

Our largest donor was Mansfield High School. Coach Patton coordinated the toothbrush drive with the assistance of the Teen Leadership classes. Students visited classrooms and discussed the importance of the toothbrush drive. MHS donated over 5,000 toothbrushes.

We want to recognize and say thanks to all the MISD schools and MISD Departments for their hard work and generous donations. And, a big THANK YOU to all the students and parents who donated.

We want to offer a special recognition for these schools:

Elementary Schools:

• Nancy Neal - over 2,000
• Janet Brockett - over 1,000
• Roberta Tipps - over 600
• Willie Brown - over 500

Intermediate Schools:

• Della Icenhower - over 200
• Cross Timbers - over 100

Middle Schools:

• Danny Jones - over 400
• Brooks Wester - over 200

High Schools:

• Mansfield - over 5,000
• Summit - over 600

Mansfield Early Childhood PTA donated over 400.

Mansfield ISD Council of PTAs and Cook Children's say THANK YOU to all the schools that participated, spent the time coordinating the toothbrush drive and to everyone who donated a toothbrush. We really appreciate all the time and effort spent on the toothbrush drive.

Photo by photobunny via Flickr Creative Commons